Trump calls for investigation in top TV journalists and executives following Matt Lauer’s firing

U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as he leaves a Made in America roundtable meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S. July 19, 2017.

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Carlos Barria/Reuters

President Donald Trump called for an investigation into top TV news journalists and executives after NBC News fired host Matt Lauer on Wednesday following allegations of “inappropriate sexual behavior.”

President Donald Trump called for an investigation into top television news journalists and executives after news broke that NBC News fired longtime host Matt Lauer on Wednesday following allegations of “inappropriate sexual behavior.”

The president suggested in a pair of tweets that top executives at NBC and Comcast be fired for “putting out so much Fake News” and called for an investigation into NBC News chairman Andy Lack and “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough’s past, and asked when NBC will fire MSNBC chief Phil Griffin.

“Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for ‘inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace,'” Trump wrote. “But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lack’s past!”

Nearly two hours later, the president followed up with another tweet suggesting that Griffin and Scarborough be fired. He did not specify what wrongdoing the two committed, but said Scarborough, with whom he has long feuded, was involved in an “unsolved mystery” in Florida.

“So now that Matt Lauer is gone when will the Fake News practitioners at NBC be terminating the contract of Phil Griffin?” Trump wrote. “And will they terminate low ratings Joe Scarborough based on the ‘unsolved mystery’ that took place in Florida years ago? Investigate!”

Lack sent a memo to NBC employees on Wednesday saying that he “received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace by Matt Lauer” and that, while the complaint was the first the network had received about Lauer, there was “reason to believe this may not have been an isolated incident.”

Lauer has been a fixture on NBC since the early 1990s, where he has traveled the world to report on a wide range of subjects. He hosted “Today” for two decades.